Robert H. Hatton
|died= |image= |caption= |nickname= |placeofbirth= Steubenville, Ohio |placeofdeath= Henrico County, Virginia |placeofburial= initially Knoxville, Tennessee reburied Cedar Grove Cemetery, Lebanon, Tennessee |placeofburial_label= Place of burial |allegiance= United States of America Confederate States of America |branch= Confederate States Army Confederate Army |serviceyears= 1861–62 (CSA) |rank= Brigadier General (not confirmed) |unit= |commands= |battles= American Civil War *Peninsula Campaign *Battle of Seven Pines † |awards= |relations= |laterwork= }} Robert Hopkins Hatton (November 2, 1826 – May 31, 1862) was a lawyer, politician, United States Congressman, and Confederate officer during the American Civil War. Biography Hatton was born in Steubenville, Ohio, but, early in his life, his family moved to Tennessee. He graduated from Cumberland University, then studied law there at Cumberland School of Law and established a successful practice in Lebanon, Tennessee, after passing the bar exam in 1850. He joined the Whig Party and was elected to the State Legislature in 1855. He unsuccessfully ran for governor in 1857. He was elected to the Thirty-sixth Congress in 1858 as an Opposition party candidate (the Whig party had collapsed), where he served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Navy. ]] Hatton believed that the Union should be preserved and initially opposed secession. However, after President Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers to invade the Southern states, Hatton reversed his position and formed a Confederate military unit, the Lebanon Blues, which became a part of the 7th Tennessee. Hatton was soon elected as colonel of the regiment, which was sent to western Virginia in July 1861. In 1862, Hatton and his men were ordered to the Richmond area to stop Federal Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's drive on the Confederate capital. During the resulting Peninsula Campaign, Hatton served with distinction, and on May 23, 1862, he was promoted to brigadier general of the 4th Brigade, 1st Division, Army of Northern Virginia; this appointment was not confirmed by the Confederate Congress.Eicher, p. 600. Just eight days later, he was shot in the head and killed while leading his Tennessee Brigade at the Battle of Fair Oaks. His body was returned to Tennessee for burial, but because Middle Tennessee was occupied by Federal troops, he was temporarily buried at Knoxville. On March 23, 1866, he was reburied in Lebanon's Cedar Grove Cemetery. A statue of him was erected in Lebanon's town square in 1912. Honors The Robert H. Hatton Camp #723 http://hatton.scv.org of the Sons of Confederate Veterans is named in his memory and honor. See also *List of American Civil War generals References * Cummings, Charles M., "Robert Hopkins Hatton: Reluctant Rebel." Tennessee Historical Quarterly Number 23, June 1964, pages 169-81. * Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3. Notes External links * Retrieved on 2009-05-03 *Photo Gallery of Hatton Category:1826 births Category:1862 deaths Category:People from Steubenville, Ohio Category:People from Tennessee Category:Confederate States Army generals Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Category:Members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Category:People of Tennessee in the American Civil War Category:American military personnel killed in the American Civil War